Author CJ Carmichael shares her special Cinnamon Crescent Cookie recipe that she’s been using for over 20 years!

Today I’m sharing a recipe for Cinnamon Crescent cookies that I got from a recipe magazine about 20 years ago. It’s the perfect holiday cookie and if you love cinnamon, you need this recipe!

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

Pastry –

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1 cup all purpose flour

4oz cream cheese, cold, cut into pieces

1/2 cup raspberry jam

Filling –

1/4 cup brown sugar

2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 TBSP cocoa

1 tsp finely grated orange peel (optional)

Glaze – 

1 egg

2 TBSP cream

1/3 cup coarse white sugar or chopped nuts or regular sugar

Instructions:

1. Make the pastry by cutting the butter into the flour until crumbly.
2. Cut in the cheese until crumbly.
3. Gather the dough together and form into a ball. Knead a few times.
4. Divide the dough in half and shape into two balls. Wrap each and refrigerate until ready to use. The pastry can be easily made in a food processor – process until the dough just comes together.
5. Prepare the filling by combining the brown sugar, nuts, cinnamon, cocoa and (optional) orange peel.
6. Preheat the oven to 350F.
7. Roll out each ball of dough into a 12″ circle. The thinner the pastry, the crisper the cookies will be.
8. Spread each round with a thin layer of jam. Sprinkle with the filling and pat it in firmly.
9. Cut each circle into 12 wedges and roll each wedge up tightly from the outside edge.
10. Butter a cookie sheet well, or line with parchment paper.
11. Arrange the crescents on the cookie sheet.
12. In a small bowl, combine the egg and cream for the glaze. Brush the cookies with the glaze and sprinkle with sugar. (Crescents can now be frozen if you wanted to bake for a later time)
13. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Frozen crescents will require a slightly longer baking time.